Hi TCFKAG, I saw in the C’rette comments that you’re back in the hospital. I hope it’s a brief stay and that your medical issues are resolved. Hope to see you commenting in good spirits on Tuesday! I finally have a problem worthy of your skills! I’m going to an outdoor wedding in July in Baltimore. The ceremony is outside, and is followed by an outdoor happy hour. I already have a dress I’m looking forward to wearing – it’s a slate blue sundress. The real issue is shoes! I was thinking of gold or neutral sandals, but the competing priorities seem almost impossible to reconcile. They need to have either a wedge or a wide heel (so I don’t sink into the ground heel first) and can’t be too casual (since it’s a wedding). I feel like I have some leeway. Ideally, they’d have a heel of ~2 inches. (I’m a wimp and probably won’t survive an hour-long standing cocktail hour in anything much higher. My vanity, however, knows darn well I don’t look great in something super flat.) I feel like some demographics may be useful in your search. I’m in my mid-thirties and wear a shoe size of 10 (dress size too, come to think of it). My foot is on the wider side. For example, Cole Haans are always too narrow. I’d like to keep it under $150. I’m willing to spend on these because, given the parameters, I’m sure I’ll get a lot of wear out of them. Not sure if this matters, but my dress is fit and flare, and knee-length. I have a sandal very similar to these Clarks Woodward Alder, but they seem too casual for me. (All the wedges I’ve found seem to have cork siding, and while I’m sure there is some leeway, it just looks too casual to me.) Take care of yourself!

Thank you for the well wishes MU - I am, in fact, home from the hospital (came home Sunday evening so I got to enjoy the beautiful weather on Monday). I even went to work today, which was a challenge. But, I have to put my game face on since this week is a very hectic one as I prepare for my very first court appearance as a full-fledged attorney, representing my pro bono client in a pre-trial hearing in her divorce case. So wish me luck readers! Aaaanyway - back to the issue at hand. For the readers following along at home, here are the sandals that MU mentioned in her post.

These are very cute sandals and I like them a lot - but I have to agree that, with the dress you've described and the sound of the event, I'm not sure they're dressy enough. But I'm sure I can find you a few better options. So shoppers start your...credit cards and lets do this thing!

Ross Hommerson Dejon Wedge Sandals in Gold Cork at 6PM ($31.50 - so, wave off any attempts to institutionalize me here - but I think these are really cute. Rather than just using cork as a throw-away on the heel, here he has used it intentionally to make a more interesting shoe, and there are gold flecks throughout the cork. Its an entirely different take on the neutral wedge sandal and I have to say, I think I'm a fan. So weird.)Donald J. Pliner Decimas wedge sandals in gold at 6PM ($89.99 - so since 6PM doesn't have reviews, I looked these up on Amazon and they have great reviews - but only two of them - and you'd be getting a good price, they cost $169 or so at Amazon.)

Nine West Vocals Wedge Sandal in mixed metallics at Amazon ($59.25 - I love mixing metallics, especially in shoes, it allows you to mix metallics in the rest of the outfit which totally opens up your accessorizing choices for the evening.)Aerosoles Women's Bakers Dozen wedge sandals in gold snake at Famous Footwear ($59.99 - I know not everyone is wild about snake prints but I like them since they add a wee bit of edge to an outfit. I also think the uncovered wedge doesn't take as much away from this shoe as they usually do - maybe because it isn't true cork?)Aerosoles Women's Zenthusiasm in neutral at Famous Footwear ($68.99 - so this is another pair you might need to check my brain for but...I love the way they've purposefully taken a series of casual elements and put them together in such a way that, when paired with a dressy outfit would look, I think, appropriately formal. Especially for an outdoor wedding in the summer. And yet, on the flip side, paired with a denim skirt and a moto jacket on the weekends it could work with that too. These shoes confuse me - its like they're camouflaged or in deep cover. But, I like that about them. Anyway, might be worth a look see.)

And finally - I wanted to mention a product (or more like a group of products) that might really make your day. Or week. Or month. Or whatever. They are small plastic things that you stick on the bottom of your heels that allow you to walk in grass - I used them when I was a bridesmaid in an outdoor wedding and it worked like a charm. Below are the three most well-reviewed options on Amazon.

Heels Above High Heel Protector - Clear $11.99 per pack of four but free shipping is not included as it doesn't qualify for prime. But with 38 reviews it has 4 stars - not half bad for something like this.

SoleMates High Heeler High Heel Protection $12.65 per pack of two. Comes in a glittery option - I believe this is the version I used at the aforementioned wedding - they worked well, though one got irretrievably stuck on the heel of the shoe (luckily the shoes weren't my favorites.)

Okay readers - what do YOU wear to weddings like this? Flats? Wedges? Stacked or chunky heels? Or do you use these heel protectors so you can wear stilettos or other heels? Leave a comment in the notes with your preference.

Oh...and while you're here....you might as well think about entering the CONTEST which ends FRIDAY. That's is SO SOON. I mean really, if you are procrastinating on this, you're only hurting yourself. :-) So enter today! (Thanks for tolerating my contest announcements over here - I feel like public radio during a fundraising drive. But without the tote bags or the boring history DVDs to give away.)

What about these? http://www.zappos.com/earthies-caradonna-biscuit?zfcTest=fcl%3A2 I own a pair of pumps from this brand and they're the most comfortable heels I've ever worn. There are some other Earthies beige heels too, but they're higher, and some more casual wedges as well.